Come for the American cynicism, stay for the Russian despair.

Menu

Big Changes

I love you. You are the rain to my desert. I love you so much that I want you to get as much enjoyment as possible out of my blog. And since D.C. provides low concentrations of my primary satire material-that is, Russian Jews (and really, there’s only so much I can mock Mr. B since he still peels my oranges for me,) we are moving (back) to Philadelphia.

It’s been a tough six (seven?) months since then, most of which I have spent wrestling with myself, playing acrobatic mindgames of “what if this and what if that” with the Arlington moon as I-395 outside my window passively hummed by.

This decision was made infinitely harder because now there are two of us impacted by any decision either makes, and even though it’s a decision we’ve reached and agreed to mutually, our lives will still be in a mild chaos for the next several months, because, who the hell is going to peel my oranges in Philly? (did I use the word decision enough in that last paragraph?)

There is nothing (except the traffic and Michaele Salahi) that Mr. B and I don’t love about D.C. For us, it is the perfect place to live. It is probably my second-favorite place in the world (aside from the Tel Aviv beach at night.) We could have sunny breakfasts every weekend, take in the embassies, go see a famous authors, National Book Festivals, dragon boats, meet really cool people, and on and on.

However, we have come to several realizations.

The cost of living is way too high for us to buy a house we’d like here, especially big enough for expanding our family with Keeshonds or having anyone stay over to visit beyond the one-bedroom condo we rent now. The key here is the mean home price difference.

The guilt of living far away from family (especially aging grandparents who need to be helped) isn’t worth balancing out the pleasure we get from living here.

If we continue to live the way we do, we will never grow up. It is too convenient and too comfortable to continue to live with minimal responsibilities, sans house, sans Keeshonds, and sans family.

It’s possible to make any city what you want.

I am running out of blog material in D.C.

The last one is most critical.

I’m starting a new technical writing/project management job in Philadelphia in October, which I’m looking forward to very much because it will be a huge move forward in my career and I get to do more writing (God help us all.) I am sad to be leaving the immediate world of economics but, depending on what I decide, I may re-enter it again as a master’s student.

So, like other girls my age who are grappling with the same type of life changes right now, I am terrified and sad to be leaving friends and Russian-pessimistic and need you to tell me it will all be o.k. in the comments I am excited as we continue the next chapter.

Luckily, economists believe that everything evens out in the long-run, which is what I’m gunning for as we move up and out.

I have no idea whether the rest of those numbers are accurate (and can tell they’re not because we spend much less on groceries in PA than anywhere in DC) but the housing number does strike true with our gut feeling and empirical research.

Welcome back to PA!
If my guy and I ever make it to Philly to try and determine if Pat’s or Geno’s is the best place to get a cheesesteak, maybe I can schedule a visit with you since it’s been like 10 or more years since I last saw you.

If we were comparing in terms of food, DC would blow Philly out of the water; although, Philly does have an excellent Israeli restaurant, Zahav, and a bunch of cute restaurants by Stephen Starr, the variety of food in DC is much higher-Burmese, Ethiopian, Cuban, etc. etc. etc. ; so much so, that DC area economist Tyler Cowen writes restaurant reviews: http://tylercowensethnicdiningguide.com/ and I was really hoping to take on his econ research ways. I will keep you abreast of what I find in Philly

I saw your tweet and the shock of it brought me straight here! How funny that I know enough about you to be shocked by a tweet…. But, I digress.

My point is to say: IT WILL BE OK. The definition of “ok” is of course very changey, and somedays it will be bigger and broader than others, but of course: it will be ok. You bring with you your not inconsiderable brains and wit, and the very-clearly Love of Your Life (he’ll be there eventually) — these things will take you anywhere well. And you get to miss Mr. B for a little while, and as someone married to a man who used to regularly do reserve duty in the Israeli army, let me say: We sometimes forget how sweet it can be to say goodbye and then say hello again. Missing is a good thing. It means love.

Not only will it be ok, it will be fantastic. Especially after you have a child, when you will be able to escape to D.C. guilt-free, knowing that you’ve left behind a grandchild to entertain your parents for several days, and they’d much rather hang out with the baby than with you, anyway.

Before we settled down, my husband and I had the opportunity to live in some pretty awesome places, but in the end we chose to stay in CLEVELAND, OHIO to be close to our families and be able to buy a home. The only time I ever regret this decision is after four months of winter. I have to say the quality of my life has actually been better because of the decision to stay by family – my parents being around to help me with the kids and allow P-Dawg and I to take solo trips saved my sanity when the kids were really little. It still does. And their lives (and grasp of Lithuanian) are so much better for having that cultural influence.

Plus, living in a house is fun. You can tell people to get off your PROPERTY.

Hi Vicki, as someone whose family is on the other side of the country, I’ve found my views on the matter have changed drastically in the past year since having a baby. Having them around (especially in typical Russian Jewish style), really makes a difference, especially in the sanity department. Doing it alone is just not fun, no matter what city you’re in. In other words, when you have a baby, many cliches become true :).

What frigid north? I’m in humid, gross Toronto, pining away for the frigid north. Anyway, I was a Leningrad baby, complete with frost-bitten cheeks when I could barely walk. The frigid north is in my soul

How had I never seen your blog before right now?! Darn it. But enjoy Philadelphia: It’s a wonderful city, one I could see myself in. And much, much less expensive. Let me know how it goes? I’m adding you to my Reader so I can check in on someone else’s post-DC adventures, too. Good luck!

If you are in uncomfortable position and have got no cash to go out from that point, you will require to take the credit loans. Because that should help you for sure. I take consolidation loans every year and feel great because of that.